Kane says England defeat will hurt for a long time

Desolation and dreams of what might have been littered the path out of Luzhniki Stadium, in Moscow, as supporters trudged towards the metro and into the night.

"Maybe [that was] a effect of being ahead and being the least experienced team in the tournament with the chance to get to a World Cup final", he added.

A first World Cup final since 1966 and a showdown with France agonisingly slipped away.

John Ryan, 33, from Coventry, was in the Luzhniki to witness the defeat.

Football may not be the only thing "coming home" this month as England boss Gareth Southgate's World Cup waistcoat is being sought by the Museum of London. And put in a performance.

"There's no out and out stars and everybody just looks at them as young lads, making their way out, they've not got above their station".

And then, just when England thought old fears could be dismissed and new chapters of success written, it happened again.

Reiss Malone, 33, said: "Overall you've got to look at it, and to get to the semis is a massive achievement and it could be our time in four years".

But Andy Bradley, 42, from Hull, felt the team had done the nation proud.

And fans said they believed the key to success was the youthful team's work ethic and pride. "I'm really excited about what this squad can do in the future", said Kieran Davidson, a fan from Stockport who had booked a last-minute trip to Moscow after England booked their semi-final place.

"We've always watched the England games in Penticton, and we got thrown out of a pub a couple of years ago for singing too much". We knew they would fight for everything. "But when you're in charge of the game and have the chances we had, you have to take a second goal at that point". I think we've all had an incredible experience. "So I made a decision to build a pub", Lewis said.

"This was the dream, we could've made it, we could have done it".

England's players responded to a standing ovation from those supporters but there was no disguising the pain - or Southgate's determination to remind them of what they have achieved at this World Cup in Russian Federation.

"It's impossible to say anything to them to make them feel better at this moment of time", Southgate said.

Croatian Goran Ivanisevic owns one of the most unlikely sports stories of recent years after he won Wimbledon in 2001 despite being a wildcard entry.

ESPN's Charlie Gibson takes in all the action and fanfare in Moscow as England's World Cup journey comes to an end at the hands of Croatia.

In the end, it was not to be, though amid the disappointment there was also a feeling that the tournament was still something to savour, the first such World Cup for a long time.